Volunteer Firefighters at Balintore Community Fire Station

That the Parliament thanks the volunteer firefighters of Balintore Community Fire Station for the time, training and commitment that they give to keeping their community safe; recognises that crews on the volunteer duty system carry a pager throughout their family and working lives and turn out to house fires, wildfires and road traffic collisions across the community; notes that the station was established in 1975 and has now served its community for five decades; commends the employers across the community who release members of staff during the working day to respond to emergency calls and attend training and considers that, without that flexibility, many rural stations could not maintain their availability; notes that, of the 356 fire stations operated by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, 43 are volunteer stations; understands that recruitment and retention remain a particular challenge in remote and rural communities, and believes that volunteer and on-call crews are indispensable to the resilience of the fire and rescue service across the Highlands and Islands.